Bharwan Laal Mirch ka Achar: Spice stuffed Red Chilli Pickle

We Indians love food that beat with rhythm on our taste buds. Achar or pickle plays a crucial role in Indian cuisine. All Indian achar are invigorating; sharp, uplifting and stimulates the senses with a burst of flavor. They come in varieties, filled with inexplicable aromatic blend of flavors and are truly therapeutic.

I miss those afternoons when we would steal away quietly and scoop out pickle from the jars sitting in the sun. Some tart, some sweet, some spicy and some with all the flavors blended together. Different kinds for different times and moods. There is an untold charm and satisfaction in furtively licking out the achar from the palm our hands. It is a pleasure of a “conquest”, just because we were not supposed to do so. That feeling is lost forever for I have no restriction now.

It took me a while to get used to the “American” pickles; the cucumber and peppers immersed in jars of vinegars. Almost twenty years later I still cannot call them “pickles”. Pickles/achar with meal is quite a different story in India. They are more than just condiments and are often relished along with plain dal and rice or just over parathas, aloo parathas or any kind of bread. They are known to enliven any meal and every moment. Every home is known to have at least a few bottles of home made pickles of different kind ready to be eaten.

Every home has their own distinctive style of achar and the spice blends vary as much from one region to another. Any fruit or vegetable may be pickled and traditionally families in India make achar with seasonal fruits or vegetables. Some pickles in India are minimally cooked before storing, while some like this one does not require any cooking at all. High concentration of salt and oil help preserve the achar and make them safe to be stored for many months even without refrigeration.

remove membranes and seeds. Wear gloves if you need to.

This is my mom-in-law’s recipe. I do not know why I never posted this before or even made it myself. Of all the things we talked about when A and me met some twenty years back, one was this achar. Yes we talked of pickles and mummy’s aloo ka kofta and a few of his favorite food. Little did we know then that I would be food blogging! Two years back with she came to visit us, we found the red chilli peppers in the grocery stores, just the kind that are needed to make this pickle. They were probably the Fresno peppers, which looks similar to the Jalapenos only red in color and with thinner skin. She was excited beyond words and me too. For all these years here I never saw these peppers so readily available. She had pickled few pounds of these, and we ate for a few months even after she went back.

This year in spring I had germinated the seeds that I was going to grow in our back yard. A small bag had the seeds of pepper with no label and I planted them only to find out few months back that they were the red chilli peppers that I had saved when my MIL visited.

Dry out the moisture in the pepper. Some of mine got too dry as I had harvested some of them with a few days in between.If they are only a little bit more than just dried as mine were, they will revive and soften as it sits in the oil and the spice mix. Stuff the slit peppers with the masala…and pour oil to cover them all

We had about twenty ripe ones at one single time and I decided to make achar with it. Now all the stuffed pepper achar do not have the same recipe. The way A likes it is with minimal amount of spice and absolutely no tart or sourness in it. We have tried buying all brands and kinds and have had others make it for us. But he ate none of them.

loosely cover with a light and porous cloth. Leave it in the warmth of the sunlight for it to mature and the flavors to infuse…

I have the recipe exactly the way mummy makes it. I have made no changes except suggesting the olive oil if you would need to substitute the mustard oil. I know mustard oil is not easily available here and hence the suggestion. For the authentic taste of the pickle, using mustard oil is a necessity. The other spices that are usually used written down below as well but as optional ingredients. The strongest flavor in this pickle is that of mustard and fennel.

Bharwan Laal Mirch ka Achar: Spice stuffed Red Chilli Pickle

Ingredients: (Makes a small jar of pickle – 20 stuffed peppers)

20 red chilli pepper (red and sized exactly like Jalapeno peppers, something similar to Fresno Peppers or may be Fresno peppers)

1/2 – 3/4 cup pure mustard oil (that amount will vary by the size of the chili peppers; there should be enough to use some of it to make a paste with the spices and also to cover the peppers completely in the jar)

dry and sterilized jar/bottle to store the pickle

*Note: Traditionally most pickles in the northern regions of India, especially the ones which are spicy are made in Mustard oil. The flavor and the strength of the mustard oil cannot be substituted with any other oil. If you do not get pure mustard oil, use Olive oil. The flavor will be missing but it will still work.

* you will find the visuals and descriptions of the spices if you click on the “spices” above

Method

Wash the chili peppers. Wipe them dry with a towel. Slit fresh red chillies and remove seeds. Remove the stems if you want. (It is advisable to remove stems; I did not it here as my peppers were really tiny and I had to hold on to the stem to clean and stuff them. A not very good reason, but I did as I did not to touch the peppers. The heat of the pepper irritates the skin for many hours). These peppers are usually extremely hot, so take care and wear gloves if needed.

Lay the peppers in a single layer on a paper towel on a tray and leave them out to dry. Leave them out in a dry and well aired space – by the window where there is plenty of sunlight or even outside are good options. Or they may be dried in the oven at 150F for about 4-6 hours. The extra moisture will dry up from the peppers and there are less chances of them going bad when stuffed and pickled. The peppers should be wrinkled but not hard. They will also feel lighter with part of the moisture gone.

Heat the oil to smoking hot and then cool completely.

To make the masala/spice mix, take ground and powdered fennel and mustard, salt and turmeric (and if any other spices you are using), in a bowl and mix. Add two to three tablespoons of oil to the dry masala and mix. Adjust the amount of oil: it should be a crumbly but sticky mix, a bit drier than a paste.

Stuff the peppers with this masala. Pour some of the oil in the clean, dry and sterilized jar. Pack the peppers tightly in the jar. If there are any extra spice mix left, put everything in the jar along with the stuffed peppers. Pour the remaining oil in the jar. Now cover the mouth of the jar with a light porous cloth. The jar is now to be left in the sun for about a week. The heat of the sun “cooks” the pickle. The porous cloth on the mouth of the jar prevents the dampness in the jar caused by the warmth. Every day once a day, give the pickle a gentle stir with a clean and dry spoon. Or lightly shake it up for the spices and the oil to be redistributed.

The pickle can be served right after it is made, but it is best if it is allowed to mature in the sun for a while. The flavors settle and infuse during in the time. The pickle may be saved for many months. I usually keep the jar on the window sill a few times a week where is gets enough sun.

I absolutely love this achar with aloo parathas. There was this little restaurant in Bangalore that served the most amazing laal mirch ka achar..I remember buying a couple of bottles from there. Beautiful shots

Earlier it was regularly parceled to us by our neighbour Aunty. Later when I got married I asked aunty to pass me her pickle recipe. Any parathas and these are must..Love your plates and pickle looks fingerlicking good

Aachar that is not tart or sour – I like them as well.
Beautiful photos and beautiful brass and stone plates. When I go back home I’ll be eyeing my mothers ‘pujor basun’. I’ll tell her you inspired me to rob some of her possessions.

Beautiful photos Soma! I notice that you have asafoetida as an optional ingredient which is good… Haha, I remember a recipe on your blog that had the same ingredient in it so not knowing what it was, when I searched for it and found it I bought it online… And then I forgot what I was gonna use it for….;) i know you probably have quite a few recipes using it so I have to start digging into that bag! But in any case, I love the look of these pickled stuffed peppers!

I love this achar! I must make this. I hope I can find red peppers.
I do not have a garden ( and in the few potted plants i do have, no yield! )
Do u have any idea where I can find peppers similar to yours in Dallas area?

Hi Manasi,

I have not seen these around recently. The only time we had found these was 2 years back during the spring time and w lucked out in Kroger! of all places. Try looking for them in Whole Food or Sproutsor may be Fiesta. I haven’t found them in Sprouts tho’. We have no more either and the hubby suggested that I just make the masala with chili powder or ground red dry chili in it to spice it up. If you find any other pepper (if not the Fresno Peppers), with a thinner skin (not as thick as Jalapenos) it will work. Good luck

Please Let me know where can i buy this pickle [Achar]. I have searched in lot of shops but couldn’t get anywhere. Let me know if anyone knows any shop in Mumbai or thane where i can get is parceled from.

Most Indian Grocery Stores will carry a Red Chilli Pickle. They might not be exactly the same as this recipe, but similar. Different brands will also have different tastes.

l really appreciate you for the recipe posted. Please can you send me the details of achar made with mango fruit and how to preserve from spoilage. Also is any book you can recommend that teaches on how diffrent spices are blend togethewr, expecially in india
Thanks

Can I do Laal Mirch ka Achar with cherry peppers insted of red chilli Pepper, to make them less hot ?

Any peppers can be used. However peppers with thicker skin like jalapeno will have chances to go bad quicker. The thicker skin means more water content and that will create mold as it sits. Not sure if you can partly sun dry or oven dry to reduce that. Peppers with paper thin skin is best for this kind.

DO NOT COPY!

Copyright:

All content on this blog, including
the photography and written text,
are our work, which means it is
copyrighted with All Rights Reserved.
No work from this blog
may be used for republishing
and for commercial purposes
without our permission.